The new cultivar is the result of a chance discovery in an existing population of Begonia elatior plants. The new variety originated as a naturally occurring, whole plant mutation of the parent variety, the unpatented commercial variety, Begonia elatior ‘Carnaval.’ The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Jos ten Have, a citizen of the Netherlands, in the Summer of 2004 at a commercial greenhouse in Maasland, the Netherlands.
After selecting and isolating the new cultivar, asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘HV01B1’was first performed in the same commercial greenhouse by vegetative cuttings in the winter of 2004. ‘HV01B1’ has since produced several generations and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.